On Monday, February 4th, a big event happened for fans of iOS jailbreaking. ‘Evasi0n’, an untethered jailbreak for iOS 6.x, was released. This means that this jailbreak is the first to be compatible with all iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and iPad mini models running on iOS 6.0 through iOS 6.1, the newest iOS so far.

Why is this important? The significance is mostly for those users who have iOS 6 on their devices and couldn’t jailbreak it until now, which is mostly iPhone 5 users. This opens the doors to a range of opportunities for users to tweak and mod their iOS devices.

The Evad3rs team, consisting of Pod2g (Cyril Cattiaux), MuscleNerd (Eric McDonald), Planetbeing (David Wang), and Pimskeks (Nikias Bassen), awaited the release of iOS 6.1 before releasing the jailbreak, which would increase the effective time of the software. Because Apple has increased the security of iOS 6, it takes longer for vulnerabilities that enable a jailbreak to be found, which is why it was more effective for the Evad3rs to wait so Apple can’t immediately patch the jailbreak with the release of iOS 6.1.

The website for the jailbreak is www.evasi0n.com. The jailbreak can run on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. The website provides Mirrors to download Evasi0n from, including box.com, MEGA, and RapidShare.

The response has been incredible with evasi0n. Cydia administrator, Jay Freeman, told Forbes that evasi0n has been installed on seven million iOS devices within only four days.

“That makes the iOS-hacking app the fastest-adopted jailbreak software of all time, Freeman says.”

For those out there with iOS devices running iOS 6.0 to 6.1, are you ready to jailbreak? If you don’t know what jailbreaking is, click on this link for a general overview of what jailbreaking is.

Apple has announced that this fall, iOS 6 will be released. Most current iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users will end up upgrading to iOS 6 in hopes of new features, and we hope that Apple doesn’t let us down. Based on what Apple has announced so far, most people are excited to get iOS 6 on their devices and take advantage of the newest features. I will go over some of the new features that Apple has announced so far.

The first thing that iOS 6 will provide is an upgrade for the Maps app. For those who have used the Maps app on previous iOS, they will notice that Apple has completely redesigned the app and has made it much more vivid and detailed. The new Maps app also provided turn-by-turn directions and offers different routes if traffic conditions have changed. Maps uses real-time traffic conditions to help you avoid traffic accidents and slowdowns. The app also has a 3D view of major areas that gives you a very clear image of the location you are viewing. Siri works well with Maps to help you get to your destination. You can even tap a pin on the map and view different information about that location, especially with the integration of Yelp into the Maps app.

Siri has also been improved. Siri works in more countries, understands more languages, and will now be available on the new iPad. You can tell Siri to look up the scores for a sports game, look up movie show times, find local restaurants, and even tweet or update your Facebook. Siri can even launch apps for you. Apple is also working on getting Siri integrated in cars, a feature called Eyes Free. This will allow you to press a button on your steering wheel to communicate to Siri and allow you to call people, select music, text message your friends, and much more, without even lighting up the device’s screen.

Facebook will now be integrated into iOS 6. You can share photos from your Camera or Photos app, post your location from Maps, post your score from Game Center, integrate your friend’s profile information into Contacts and integrate events into Calendars. Facebook is now part of every aspect of your device and you can even click the Like button in iTunes and the App Store. Not only are Apple apps integrated with Facebook, non-Apple apps can also connect to Facebook. This update is definitely going to be attract those who use Facebook frequently to post updates and pictures because it adds even more convenience to the use of mobile applications.

iOS 6 also gives you the option to Share photos from the Photos app with friends and family. If they are using iCloud on an iOS 6 device or a Mac running OS X Mountain Lion, the photos you share with them are delivered straight to their Photos app or iPhoto. People can even like or comment it, similar to Facebook. If you want to share it with someone who doesn’t have an iOS 6 device or Mac running OS X Mountain Lion, they can view it on the web on the iCloud website.

A new application that Apple is adding is Passbook. Passbook is your organizer that replaces a wallet for coupons, tickets, boarding passes, etc. Passbook also takes advantage of time and location to coupons and passes will appear on your lock screen when it is appropriate, like when you are about to reach the airport or walk into the store where you will use the coupon. Airplane tickets also update if the airline announced changes. Passbook provides convenience in one simple application. The only problem is that companies need to support the app for it to be useful.

Apple has finally announced the use of FaceTime over cellular networks, instead of only Wi-Fi. This means you can FaceTime with your iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, and Mac, wherever you are as long as you have Wi-Fi or a cellular network. This feature is something I would have expected of FaceTime previously, but it’s better late than never.

iOS 6 also improves the Phone app. This improvement will be very useful for those using the iPhone. The new feature gives you the option to send a preset text message or custom text message if you can’t answer a call. You can also set a time- or location-based reminder to alert you to call someone back. There is also a Do Not Disturb setting that will silence all incoming calls and notifications for a certain period of time or schedule, depending what you choose. It can even allow calls from specific people but silence the rest. This provides you with a whole new set of features for your iPhone.

With iOS 6, even the Mail and Safari app is updated. In the Mail app, you can set up a VIP list for important contacts. When you receive an email from someone on your VIP list, there will be a notification on your lock screen and those emails can be found in your VIP mailbox. Apple has made it easier to add photos and videos with just a few taps and allows you to use the swipe down to refresh your mailbox. Safari now has iCloud Tabs to keep track of webpages open on any device connected to your iCloud account. Safari also saves webpages in your Reading List so you can view them while not connected to the Internet. You can also post a photo or video from your Camera Roll or take a photo or video to post without even leaving Safari.

There are many new features on the new iOS, but some features will also be removed. Something of note is that Apple will remove the YouTube app with the update of iOS 6. Its license with Google to include the YouTube app has expired, but Google is already developing a standalone app for the Apple App Store. This isn’t a major difference but may be taken as a move by Apple to deviate away from Google apps.

With all these new features with the coming of iOS 6, who can wait? Improvements to many of the apps already provided by the previous iOS will make a big impact on the user experience. I’m definitely going to upgrade to iOS 6. The most exciting thing about iOS 6 for me is the new features with Maps and Phone, and the use of Passbooks. What are you looking forward too?

What is iCloud? iCloud is like a hard drive through the internet. iCloud is arriving this fall. It is accessible from your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac or PC. It gives all your devices instant access to your music, movies, photos, apps, and more. iCloud automatically keeps all your devices up to date. Once you update your iOS devices to iOS 5, your apps become integrated with iCloud and all your content is kept up to date. When you sign up for iCloud, you are given 5GB of free storage, which is a lot when your purchases from iTunes don’t take up any space. Mainly your mail, documents, Camera Roll, account information, settings and other app data are the only things taking up space.

With iCloud, you can purchase music from iTunes and iCloud automatically stores it and pushes it onto your other devices, so it’s automatically on all your devices as long as they are connected over Wi-Fi or 3G. You don’t even have to sync your devices. You can also look through your purchase history and download any of your past purchases onto your devices. iTunes Match is another option if you have a lot of songs you didn’t purchase from the iTunes store. For just $24.99 a year, iTunes will scan and determine which songs you have and will match it automatically with the song in iTunes, which will be added to your iCloud library. You have to upload the songs that iTunes can’t find a match for. Even if the original copy of the song is low quality, iTunes Match lets you play it at 256-Kbps iTunes Plus quality.

Whenever you take a photo with your iOS device or import a photo onto your Mac or PC, it is automatically stored on iCloud and pushed to all your devices, as long as there is Wi-Fi. When new photos are pushed onto your iOS devices, only the last 1000 photos will appear on your Photo Stream, but if you want to make sure the photo is saved on your iOS device, you can save it from your Photo Stream to one of your photo albums. Your Mac or PC automatically keeps all your photos.

Certain apps, like Apple iWork apps, make it possible for you make documents, presentations, and other documents, but now with iCloud, your apps can store that information in iCloud and that gives you access to your documents with whichever device.

With iCloud, all the apps you download can be automatically pushed to all your devices. Another cool feature about iCloud is that when you use iBooks app or the iBookstore, all the books you save can be pushed to all your devices, and when you leave a bookmark, highlight text, or make notes, they are automatically pushed to all your devices. How convenient is that? iCloud also automatically backs up your iOS device daily over Wi-Fi. Backup is convenient and seems completely effortless because it backs up only the changes you made, so it is quick and efficient. iCloud Backup takes care of everything when you need to restore your device, just connect your device to Wi-Fi and enter your Apple ID and password.

iCloud also stores your email, calendars, and contacts and also automatically pushes them to all your devices.

Many iPad owners don’t realize that you can use the iPad as an external monitor for your Mac or Windows PC. For $4.99, you can purchase iDisplay from the App Store. What is iDisplay? iDisplay is basically an app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. You have to install iDisplay Desktop for free on your Mac or Windows PC if you want to use the iDisplay app on your iOS device for use with your Mac or Windows PC. There are also certain requirements you should be aware of before you decide to use iDisplay.

To setup your iPad as an external monitor for your Mac, you must first go to the App Store and purchase the app iDisplay for $4.99. You must also go on your Mac and go to Shape Services to download the iDisplay Desktop for Mac OS for free. Install the iDisplay Desktop software and restart your computer. Now that you have both iDisplay and iDisplay Desktop, you can click iDisplay Desktop to get it running. The iDisplay Desktop application will not pop up, but will show up on the top right menu bar to show that it is running. Now you can run the iDisplay app on your iPad and an alert will pop up on your Mac display that will say that an “Unknown device is attempting to connect to “iDisplay” on this computer.” You can “Allow always”, “Deny”, or “Allow”. After you either click “Allow” or “Allow always”, the iPad now acts as an external display.

You can now drag windows onto your iPad. The iPad display may be delayed depending on your internet connection speed. You can take advantage of the iPad as an external display for simple things such as IM, Twitter, and weather. It will really keep your Mac monitor less cluttered. The external monitor is great for when you do multiple things and you are running low on space.

Apple is finally releasing the OS X Lion in the summer, but how is it being distributed? Sources are saying that it will be distributed through the Mac App Store which is currently on the Mac OS X Snow Leopard too. This new operating system comes with many new features such as full disk encryption, AirDrop, a new interface, an iOS —style application launcher, mission control, and certain looks on the home screen. I created an article about the OS X Lion beta version which you can find through the search bar. Just type in OS X Lion and the article is there. It provides a more in depth review of the OS X Lion. The new Mac App Store is like the App Store on an iPhone or iPod touch. It’s basically an easier way to find apps on your Mac instead of going to an Apple store to find it.

I like that Apple is selling the OS X Lion 10.7 on the Mac App Store. It makes it a lot easier for the customers to download it instead of driving to a store to buy it. It may be just another attempt to promote the Mac App Store, but it’s in a great way. It saves Apple money because they don’t have to pay for the disks, gas money to get the OS to the stores, and it makes the customers life easier as well. The customer wouldn’t have to keep track of another disk, as if they don’t have a million of those already. This won’t mean that they won’t sell the OS X Lion 10.7 in stores, it just means that if you don’t want the hassle of another disk, just download it straight to your Mac. Apple is just trying to make your lives easier by letting you download it off their Mac App Store. In other words, no more waiting in those dreaded lines. I can finally celebrate at home when my download finishes and I have the OS X Lion on my computer without the frustration of humans.